Instagram is a funny thing. It can give an unrealistic view of people, places, things but it can also inform if you use it in a certain way. I have Instagram and of course a lot of the things/people/companies I follow, besides friends, are book publishers, restaurants we have been to, stores I shop at, crafty things and of course Airedales.
However I did discover an Instagram account by a Lady who lives in Derbyshire, not far from us, who absolutely loves the 1940’s, she and her family live like it is the 1940’s! I have gone through quite a few of her posts and am amazed by the detail to which she mainly goes to, to recreate the era. From dressing in the style of the era to doing her hair like the old film stars of the time. Where they live is also decorated with things from the 1940’s, albeit with the odd modern touch of a flat screen TV.
The lady does not work and stays home with their two very young children and cooks, cleans and shops like they would in the 1940’s. It is very admirable that she shops locally and trys to reduce the amount of plastic that they have and buy fresh rather than do a weekly shop, which we are all trying in some way to do.
There are quite a group of these people living like this and they are called “the Young Revivalists” and often go out at the weekend to events which show life in past eras. Our local Steam Train centre does quite a few of these events. These young women are going back to the days of the men go out to work and the women work in the home.
I find it fascinating in some ways. Haven’t we all at one time or another wished that we could not always be reached on our mobile phones, or thought that life was simpler years ago but of course life was also a lot harder too. As you know I spent all my school holidays with my Grandparents. My Grandfather was born in 1897 and my Grandmother in 1904 so were young in the Roaring Twenties (they actually married in 1929 and there is another story about that I will tell you in another post!).
Now my Grandmother was a stay at home Mom and she taught me how to sew, cook, bake, clean the house and all the tips and tricks that her mother had taught her. I also used to help my Grandfather in the garden and learnt alot about plants and growing things from him. So you could say that my Grandmother lived the life that these women are re-creating. However when my Mom was off and married my Grandmother bought a shop and ran that for fifteen years until my Grandfather retired from work and my Great Grandmother had her shop until she retired in 1967. So they were both modern women of the day.
I think to aim to do things around your home, like baking, sewing and shopping to try and reduce plastic waste and all that is a good idea but I don’t think I could live like it is the 1940’s no matter how much I would like a quieter life!! There was an experiment done by one of our TV companies quite a few years ago now where they took a modern family of six and put them in a house from the 1900. The house was returned to its original fixtures and fittings from the year it was built and the family had to live there for three months. It was an excellent programme seeing them cope with things like no washing machines, cooking on a range, only gas lamps or candles for light and walking/cycling everywhere and shopping locally on a daily basis a there was no cold room/store and definitely no fridge!! Look out for the show which is called “The 1900 House”
I do follow the Derbyshire 1940’s Lady to see how she does things and copes with living like that in 2022, whilst I am using all my modern things. However she does use her mobile phone to upload pictures to Instagram of her 1940’s life!!!!
I hope you are having a very sunny Tuesday.
Hugs & Love, Susie xx
